Jurgen Klopp names Liverpool player who will sign another long-term contract - 'he's a machine'

Jurgen Klopp has declared that Wataru Endo will have long and successful Liverpool career after winning his first major trophy with the club.

Endo joined the Reds from Stuttgart in the summer transfer window, although his arrival caught plenty by surprise. Liverpool had been in pursuit of Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia yet both opted to join Chelsea for a combined fee of around £163 million.

Endo cost the Reds in the region of £16 million, although being aged 30, along with his relative obscurity, meant he was written off by some early on. Yet after settling down to life on Merseyside, the Japan international has been in magnificent form. He excelled for 120 minutes of Liverpool's 1-0 extra-time win over Chelsea at Wembley - as Caicedo had to settle for a runners-up medal and Lavia was not involved because of injury.

Endo is currently under contract at Anfield until the summer of 2027. And while Klopp will leave his role as manager the summer, he is confident Endo will be part of the next Liverpool boss' plans for the long term.

Klopp said: "A good development, huh? Yeah, I said it a couple of times we were lucky. We bring him in and obviously Wataru, I'm pretty sure in three [or] four years Wataru will sign another long-term contract at Liverpool just because he might be 30 or 31 on his passport but he's not. He's a machine. He is footballing-wise exceptional. His defensive brain is outstanding. He gives us a lot of freedom for a lot of things. Yeah, top development. Very helpful, very helpful."